1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for storing and transporting separate components combinable to form a mixture or resultant product and thereafter dispensing the mixture or product thus produced. In particular, the invention relates to an apparatus for mixing two components in a set proportion just prior to dispensing the resultant mixture or product and then dispensing this material. This invention also relates to a method for using the apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that many products comprising only a single component are sold commercially in vessels equipped with a manual dispenser which permit the product to be discharged in a desired quantity. Such products are usually discharged by a simple pumping action or through the use of a propellant gas, i.e., an aerosol. Frequently, such vessels contain a perfume or a medicament which is used in very small doses. The components of such dispensers are fairly well standardized, and most simply employ different types of valves or pumps.
In the chemical industry, particularly in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical fields, a vast amount of complex and unstable products comprising more than one component have been and are being developed. These components, when stored individually, are usually very stable and may be stored for a relatively long period of time. However, when the components are combined to form the product, the properties of the product usually change dramatically as time passes. Thus, these products must be prepared as late as possible before use. The development of such multicomponent products has led to the development of various types of dispensers capable of mixing the two components which are otherwise maintained in separate vessels until just prior to use. These dispensers usually comprise twin parallel containers and the components within these containers are mixed while they are being dispensed from a single nozzle. One example of such a dispenser is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,579 to Behar. Other dispensers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,773,562 to Gueret and 4,006,841 to Alticosalian, and French patent No. 1,353,494.
One drawback to the use of the prior art dispensers described above, however, relates to instances where a portion of one component must be mixed with a smaller or larger portion of a second component. In many applications, the ratio of the two partial doses could exceed five-to-one, thereby necessitating the same ratio in the capacities of the distributors and containers acting in parallel to dispense the components in a five-to-one ratio. However, the prior art dispensers cannot easily discharge the components in anything other than a one-to-one ratio.